Nigerian Army Says It Rescued Nearly 300 Missing Women and Girls

The girls are not those kidnapped from a Chibok school a year ago, which sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign championed by Hollywood.

The Nigerian army says that it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women in the Sambisa Forest. The army announced the rescue on Twitter Tuesday and said it is now screening and profiling the girls and women.

An army spokesperson confirmed the girls are not the ones abducted from Chibok a year ago. More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in April 2014. The militants took the schoolgirls in trucks into the Sambisa Forest and the girls have been missing since. The plight of the schoolgirls has garnered international attention and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, with stars taking to social media to demand the girls be returned home.

After the kidnappings, stars showed up at red carpets holding signs reading "Bring back our girls," with Salma Hayek, Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone among those participating at the Cannes Film Festival.